BORIS Johnson on Thursday demanded abolition of the hated Irish backstop to avoid a No Deal Brexit.
He used his first appearance in the House of Commons as Prime Minister to deliver the ultimatum to Brussels.
And he declared he had already given orders to turbo-charge preparations for a No Deal exit in 99 days if his call was not met.
Mr Johnson told MPs: “If an agreement is to be reached it must be clearly understood that the way to the deal goes by way of the abolition of the backstop.”
The threat delighted Eurosceptic Tory MPs but was met with dismay in the EU, where leaders branded his remarks unacceptable.
The new PM spent two-and-a-half hours fielding 129 questions in his first appearance before MPs.
DEMOCRACY FIRST
He told them that preparing for a No Deal Brexit was his priority, with new Chancellor Sajid Javid prepared to open the spending taps to pay for it.
Mr Johnson said Britain would leave the EU on October 31, no matter what, to “restore trust in our democracy”.
And he insisted it would herald “the beginning of a new golden age for our United Kingdom”.
But he argued that “no country that valued its independence and indeed its self-respect” could sign up to the backstop, which keeps open the Irish border but binds the UK to EU rules indefinitely.
It has already been rejected three times by the Commons and Mr Johnson told MPs: “Other arrangements are perfectly possible, and are also perfectly compatible with the Belfast or Good Friday Agreement, to which we are, of course, steadfastly committed.
“We are ready to negotiate in good faith an alternative.”
BOJO’S BATTLE WITH BRUSSELS
Earlier, Mr Johnson had been equally bullish at the first meeting of his Cabinet, claiming Brexit could happen before October 31.
And he insisted it was “still possible even at this late stage” to cut a deal with the EU.
He added: “Common sense dictates that now is the moment for seriousness and compromise, and that is what we’re going to find.”
It all went down badly in the EU where chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier insisted he would only entertain requests compatible with Theresa May’s deal.
In an email to the EU’s 27 member states, he wrote: “While he has declared that he will only engage with the EU on this basis we are on our side ready to work constructively within our own mandate.
“But as suggested by his rather combative speech we have to be ready for a situation where he gives priority to planning for No Deal, partly to heap pressure on the unity of the EU27.”
Ireland’s PM Leo Varadkar also insisted that unless Mr Johnson signed up to the backstop “there will be no free trade agreement”.
Mr Johnson also spoke to EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker on Thursday night to repeat his ultimatum over the backstop.
But a Government spokesman said: “The PM reiterated that he wants a deal and will be energetic in pursuit of finding a way forward but said the Withdrawal Agreement has been rejected three times by the UK Parliament and will not pass in its current form.”
In reply, Mr Juncker told him the Withdrawal Agreement was “the only agreement possible”.
However, the ferocity of Mr Johnson’s challenge to the EU led some Tory MPs to wonder whether he was purposely setting the bar too high.
Speculation was rife in Westminster on Thursday night that his plan was to threaten a No Deal knowing Parliament would try to block it.
That would give him an excuse to call a snap election to boost the Tories’ majority of just two.
‘CORBYN CAPTURED BY BODYSNATCHERS’
In the Commons, Mr Johnson also tore into Jeremy Corbyn for abandoning his lifelong hatred of the EU by now backing Remain.
He said: “A most extraordinary thing has just happened today. Did anybody notice?
“Did anybody notice the terrible metamorphosis that took place, like the final scene of Invasion Of The Bodysnatchers?
“At last, this long-standing Eurosceptic has been captured. He has been jugulated — he has been reprogrammed. He has been turned now into a Remainer.
“Of all the flip-flops that he has performed in his tergiversating career, that is the one for which I think he will pay the highest price.”
Mr Corbyn, who has been accused of betraying his Brexit-voting heartlands, hit back by accusing the new PM of throwing together “a hard right Cabinet”.
He also attacked Mr Johnson’s Brexit plan, saying: “Our country does not need arm-waving bluster but competence, seriousness.”
CORBYN A ‘CHICKEN’
Nonetheless the Labour leader was also accused of chickening out of tabling a no confidence vote in Mr Johnson — leaving just one more chance to oust him before the October 31 Brexit deadline.
New Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson had warned: “You must not sit back and allow this government to crash our country out of the EU.”
And one Labour MP said Mr Corbyn was more interested in calling for an anti-Boris rally outside Parliament than fighting for a change of government.
Also during his marathon Q&A, Mr Johnson pledged to protect the rights of the 3.2million EU citizens in the UK under No Deal — but refused three times to pass any new laws to achieve it.
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He also revealed he has begun planning for a points-based elements to post-Brexit immigration.
But he surprised Labour by saying he would consider an amnesty for illegal immigrants.
The new Prime Minister was also challenged over his views on the death penalty, homeopathic medicine, tackling child sex abuse and expansion on Heathrow airport.
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News Photo PM Boris goes on the attack against EU and Corbyn on Commons debut
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